Watershed

Product Notes

Marsha Swanson is a singer songwriter from London. With a distinctive English folk-tinged voice and direct delivery; there is a deceptive simplicity to her songs. Her music reflects inspiration from classic singer songwriters such as Carole King and John Martyn, through to the more modern atmospheric soundscapes of Fiona Apple & Beth Orton. The journey which culminated in the delivery of Watershed began with an extended development deal with Ruth Rothwell at Universal Publishing. This allowed the time and space for Marsha to nurture her own individual sound and style. During this time she met the group of musicians who form the current line up both on the album and for live performances. Marsha's unique approach emerged when she started combining music with Psychology whilst working for a charity called 'Kids Company' a 'home from home' for hundreds of deprived inner-city children. It was here that she fully realised the survival value of music, and it's full power as a therapeutic tool. Providing lyric workshops, and working as a freelance songwriter, she would write music that described and communicated the predicament of each child to a wider social audience. Highlights of the work there included co-writing a musical for the Bridewell theatre, writing and performing a song about Kid's Company to Prince Charles (1999), performing one of her songs on a Ruby Wax documentary that was based on Kids Company (March 2000) and a performance of one of her songs at No. 10 Downing Street (May 2000). During this time when lyric writing was becoming more of a primary focus, Marsha met Martina Topley-Bird. When Martina heard about the lyric workshops Marsha ran at Kids Company, she invited her to be involved in lyrical consultations for what later became Martina's Mercury Music Prize nominated album 'Quixotic'. Marsha is currently involved in a writing project with Steve Sidelnyk (programmer/drummer to Madonna) for Canadian artist Kenn Ramm's 4th album from the 'Euphoria' project, where she features as a guest vocalist and co-writer.

Marsha Swanson is a singer songwriter from London. With a distinctive English folk-tinged voice and direct delivery; there is a deceptive simplicity to her songs. Her music reflects inspiration from classic singer songwriters such as Carole King and John Martyn, through to the more modern atmospheric soundscapes of Fiona Apple & Beth Orton. The journey which culminated in the delivery of Watershed began with an extended development deal with Ruth Rothwell at Universal Publishing. This allowed the time and space for Marsha to nurture her own individual sound and style. During this time she met the group of musicians who form the current line up both on the album and for live performances. Marsha's unique approach emerged when she started combining music with Psychology whilst working for a charity called 'Kids Company' a 'home from home' for hundreds of deprived inner-city children. It was here that she fully realised the survival value of music, and it's full power as a therapeutic tool. Providing lyric workshops, and working as a freelance songwriter, she would write music that described and communicated the predicament of each child to a wider social audience. Highlights of the work there included co-writing a musical for the Bridewell theatre, writing and performing a song about Kid's Company to Prince Charles (1999), performing one of her songs on a Ruby Wax documentary that was based on Kids Company (March 2000) and a performance of one of her songs at No. 10 Downing Street (May 2000). During this time when lyric writing was becoming more of a primary focus, Marsha met Martina Topley-Bird. When Martina heard about the lyric workshops Marsha ran at Kids Company, she invited her to be involved in lyrical consultations for what later became Martina's Mercury Music Prize nominated album 'Quixotic'. Marsha is currently involved in a writing project with Steve Sidelnyk (programmer/drummer to Madonna) for Canadian artist Kenn Ramm's 4th album from the 'Euphoria' project, where she features as a guest vocalist and co-writer.